Written for the "Whose Fic Challenge" (Anniversary 2013) at daydverse . livejournal . com.
Prompt: "It's all fun and games until - "
Crash!
The noise from the hallway made all four parents leap up in unison. Years of caution and training meant that they all had their wands out and were halfway toward the door before they heard a child's voice indignantly raised.
"It's YOUR fault, James, and I'M TELLING!"
Harry winced at the sound of his niece's voice, wondering what his eldest son had done now.
Reaching the door first, Ron pushed it open and strode through, examining the scene. His wife, sister and brother-in-law all followed him, putting their wands away as they took in the tableau displayed before them.
A picture frame lay smashed on the floor, clearly knocked off the staircase wall. James stood over it, his expression halfway between guilty and angry, glaring at Rose, who was returning the look from a few steps further down. Albus, Hugo and Lily appeared to have decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and were nowhere to be seen.
"What happened?" Ginny asked sharply.
"Rose knocked the picture off the wall," James hurried to defend himself.
"Only because James was chasing me!" Rose retorted hotly.
"We're playing Tag, I'm supposed to be chasing you," James answered with all an older cousin's withering scorn.
"It's still your fault!"
"Is not!"
"I think you're both to blame, really," Harry interjected before it could go any further. "How many times have you all - because I'm sure the others are playing, too - been told not to run around inside?"
"It's just a game," James mumbled.
"It's all fun and games - " Hermione began.
"Until someone gets hurt," both children chorused. Then Rose continued, "but no-one got hurt, Mummy. I'm sorry about the picture, but you can fix it, can't you?"
"That's not really the point, Rose. The point is that one of you could easily have been hurt; what if you'd fallen down the stairs?"
"I know, but no-one did!" Rose exclaimed with a child's exasperation at adults not following simple logic.
Hermione sighed and shook her head, giving in. "All right, but play something else, please."
Both children nodded and rushed upstairs, hurrying to get out of the way before anyone else could start lecturing them.
"Sorry about the picture, Hermione - I'm sure it's James's fault just as much as Rose's," Ginny said apologetically. "It shouldn't take much to fix…"
"That's all right, Ginny. Actually, I think Ron might be rather grateful to them - it was a wedding present, and he's never liked it," Hermione answered, smiling at Ron, who returned the smile.
"You know, I think it might be too badly damaged to fix properly," he said with a smirk. "I'm sure Great Aunt Muriel will be indignant, but what can you do with kids? She might even be offended enough to never visit again."
Everyone laughed at that, as Hermione gathered up the broken glass with a sweep of her wand.
"Whatever you do, don't let any of the kids hear you say that - they'll break everything in both our houses to stop her visiting," Ginny warned him.
"Don't tempt me, I'll start smashing things myself," he replied, chuckling. "Let's go and sit down again, until the next emergency happens."